Georgeland legislative election, 2010
The Georgeland legislative election of 2010 was held on Friday, August 6, 2010. The Conservative government led by Luke Macaulay sought a second three-year term but were defeated by the Liberal Democrats led by Lawrence Porter, who became the country's first black Prime Minister. Timing The election was the first federal election in Georgeland to be held under the Timing of Elections Act 2007 and the subsequent constitutional amendment. To that point, the timing of all elections had been at the discretion of the government. The election date for 2010 and all future elections are fixed by legislation and the constitution. Issue of writs The issue of writs is at the discretion of the government - while polling day itself is fixed by legislation, the circumstances surrounding the dissolution of Parliament are not. The writs were formally issued by President Lois Daniels on June 28, making for a six-week campaign. Party preselections The Conservatives chose their House of Commons and Senate candidates in a series of ballots beginning in late March, with each state branch conducting its ballots separately. The final state to choose candidates, East Mainland, did so in mid-June. The Liberal Democrats, in line with past practice, conducted all their preselection votes simultaneously in April-May. Voter registration deadline Eligible voters wishing to register to vote or change their enrollment must do so within two weeks of the issue of the writs, before July 12. Candidate registration deadline The final deadline for the nomination of candidates to the Parliament is 15 July, seventeen days after the issue of the writs. Issues and policies Climate Change The Macaulay government declared climate change a 'significant' issue going into the last year of its first term. Their approach to the issue has been the establishment of a national Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), targeting a 25% cut in emissions by 2020. The Scheme took effect on 1 January 2010, and will have been operating for eight months by the election. The opposition Liberal Democrats have proposed a carbon tax, and a carbon reduction target of 30% by 2020. The Green Party of Georgeland has proposed tough emissions standards and substantial carbon taxes, targeting a 60% emissions drop by 2030. The ETS legislation has been welcomed by green groups but these same groups have stated that deeper cuts are needed; the scheme has also been criticised for allowing too many 'loopholes' for polluters. Georgeland's National Climate Institute, a think-tank on climate change, has stated that the climate change issue will be the dominant one in Georgeland politics in the 2010s. Economy The government stated it intends to make the economy a key issue in the election. The Global Financial Crisis has had a moderate impact on Georgeland's economy. The unemployment rate had dropped since 2007 (from 6.5% to 5%), but the value of the Georgeland dollar had continued to slide against other major world currencies, and the Bank of Georgeland has raised interest rates twice in three years. The government focused on their employment record and attempted to convince the electorate that they were the most trustworthy party when it comes to economic handling. Tax Policy The Opposition LDP proposed a "Robin Hood tax" - a financial transaction tax on commercial stock transactions. The policy met with support from a number of influential sectors of the community, but was opposed by the government and by business leaders. Immigration Unauthorised arrivals to Georgeland had increased by 57% since 2006, with 4,492 asylum-seekers coming to Georgeland outside official channels in that time. The government increased funding to border protection efforts. The opposition proposed the creation of a coast guard to combat unauthorised arrivals and manage customs services. Education The Macaulay government abolished the short-lived National Education Service in 2008 and reverted primary control of education to the states. There has been a 9% real terms increase in federal education funding since 2007. Critics, including the opposition, say the funding increase has been ineffective in improving public education standards, especially in failing areas. Porter, in a major policy speech in late 2009, declared a Liberal Democratic government would not ressurect the NES but would instead seek a cross-governmental agreement on educational funding and management. The Education minister, Mathieu Solberg, stated the government's committment to a national curriculum in English, mathematics, history and social science. The Greens and Georgeland Alliance opposed such a scheme, while the Liberal Democrats eventually pledged a comprehensive review of education, including a white paper on a national curriculum. Opinion polling The government consistently led the opposition in all major polls since coming to office. Typically, it maintained a lead of between 5 and 10 per cent of the primary vote, and between 4 to 8 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote under Georgeland's instant runoff electoral system. Notably, Prime Minister Luke Macaulay led considerably in his personal rating against the Opposition Leader since 2007, typically besting Robin Sales by between twenty and forty per cent; since coming to the job, Lawrence Porter narrowed that gap considerably. During the campaign the gap closed even further to a near dead-heat in all major polls in the final week before the election. Poll average data (2007-2010) The following tables are collated from the three major opinion polls, conducted fortnightly, since 2010, averaged out for each period. Not all periods are included. Primary vote (first preferences) Question: If the election were held today, which party would recieve your first preference vote? Two-party vote Question: If the election were held today, which party would your voting preferences favour? Personal approval Question: Do you approve or disapprove of the way is performing his/her job? Preferred Prime Minister Question: Which of the following would you prefer to see as Prime Minister? MPs retiring The following Members of the House of Commons did not seek re-election in 2010: *Keith Briggs (LDP, Clarke-Wilson) *Xavier McLaren (LDP, Stratton) *Michael Boyle (LDP, Ryder) *Michael Gannett (LDP, Hull) *Patricia Gibson (LDP, Exeter) *Alan Holmberg-Weidler (LDP, Neilson) *Sandy McCarthy (Conservative, Matthews) *Joanna Nixon (Conservative, Prior) *Tommy Pippins (Conservative, Hobson) *Jim Pryde (Conservative, Catford) *Daniel Rudolph (LDP, Leicester) *Bill Starling (LDP, Calgary) *Pascal Stevens (Conservative, Nottingham East) *Lucien Trump (LDP, Elizabeth) *Ronald Wilson (LDP, Princeton) *Penny Zayas (Conservative, Pearce) *Michael Skipper (LDP, Farmer) *Christine Parson (Conservative, Van Goen) *Dan Tatro (LDP, Buckley *Sharon King (Conservative, Nottingham West *Stephan Bullock (Conservative, Parkfield *Francisco Dini (Crick, elected 1995) *Jasmine Durst (Garden Island, elected 2007) *Joanna Nixon (Prior, elected 2002) Senators retiring The following members of the Georgeland Senate did not contest the election: *John Ford (Conservative, Long Island) *Vance Thorpe (Liberal Democrat, Scoita) *Freddie Nugent (Liberal Democrat, West Mainland) *Kate Sheppard (Capitalia) *Stephen Hamer (Conservative, Capitalia) *John Ford (Conservative, Long Island) Senators up for re-election *Alex Stoneman (Liberal Democrat, East Mainland) *Alice Hicks (Conservative, Scoita) *Angela Smith (Conservative, Delmago Island) *Bill Allen (Conservative, Delmago Island) *Bob Snashall (Conservative, Capitalia) *Brian Feldman (FSP, Scoita) *Chris Price (Conservative, Capitalia) *Dana Nathan (Green, Long Island) *David Graham (Conservative, Bradmarch) *Florence Roberts (Georgeland Alliance, Bradmarch) *Fred Northrup (Conservative, Long Island) *Gemma Kalter (Green, Bradmarch) *Greg Downes (Green, East Mainland) *Greg Roman (Georgeland Alliance, Capitalia) *Harry Thomson (Conservative, Scoita) *Geoff Davis (Liberal Democrat, Bradmarch) *Janet Hunt (Liberal Democrat, Long Island) *Mark Duffy (Liberal Democrat, Long Island) *Ian Sutter (National Front, Long Island) *Jim O’Connor (Independent, Delmago Island) *Joan Haskett (Conservative, Bradmarch) *John Bedford (Georgeland Alliance, West Mainland) *Julie Tutt (Conservative, East Mainland) *Karen Loomis (Green, Capitalia) *Kay Killebrew (Conservative, Scoita) *Lin Tso (Liberal Democrat, East Mainland) *Luis Wzlenczechi (Liberal Democrat, West Mainland) *Mohammed Katar (Liberal Democrat, Federal District) *Peter Knight (Green, Scoita) *Roberta Naylor (Conservative, Bradmarch) *Roland Cossey (Conservative, West Mainland) *Ronan Dwight (Liberal Democrat, Capitalia) *Tony Hopkins (Georgeland Alliance, East Mainland) *Yuri Farjenko (Liberal Democrat, East Mainland) Changes to electoral boundaries The states of West Mainland and Long Island underwent electoral border changes in 2009 and the new boundaries took effect at this election. In line with population figures, West Mainland will gain one House of Commons seat while Long Island will lose one. The Elections Office's final decision was tabled in Parliament on October 18, 2009. The new urban seat of Mayfield, named for social reformer John Mayfield, was established in West Mainland. The seat of Auburn in Long Island was abolished. Results See also *House of Commons candidates in the Georgeland legislative election, 2010 *Senate candidates in the Georgeland legislative election, 2010